Why Most-Followed TikToker Khaby Lame Was Detained By US Immigration

Khaby Lame, the world's most-followed social media star on TikTok, is making waves for all the wrong reasons. The TikToker with 162 million followers was reportedly detained by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Nevada last Friday for overstaying his visa, but was released the same day after being allowed a "voluntary departure".

"US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Seringe Khabane Lame, 25, a citizen of Italy, June 6, at the Harry Reid International Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada, for immigration violations," the ICE said in a statement. 

The agency said that Lame entered the United States on April 30 and "overstayed the terms of his visa," following which he was detained but was released the same day. The Italian national, who is a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, "has since departed the US."

Lame had not immediately posted publicly about the incident as of Tuesday morning. However, Barron Trump's close aide, social media influencer Bo Loudon, posted about the development on X, claiming that Lame had been arrested in Las Vegas and was being held at the Henderson Detention Centre.

Calling Lame an "illegal alien," Loudon alleged that he was the one who alerted authorities about Lame's visa status. "I discovered he was illegal, who overstayed an invalid VISA, evaded taxes, and I personally took action to have him deported," he wrote in his post.

He further claimed that he collaborated with "the patriots at President Trump's DHS to make this happen".

Since taking power in January, US President Donald Trump has delivered on campaign promises to tighten immigration controls and carry out a mass deportation drive -- aspects of which have been challenged in US courts.

Who Is Khaby Lame?

Born in Senegal, Lame is an Italian citizen who holds the top spot on the wildly popular TikTok social media app, with 162.2 million followers. He gained recognition during the COVID-19 pandemic with his silent videos mocking the convoluted tutorials and tips that abound on the internet.

He punctuates his videos with a trademark gesture -- palms turned towards the sky, accompanied by a knowing smile and wide eyes -- as he offers his own simple remedies. The idea for his content came to him while wandering around the housing project where his family lived in Chivasso, near Turin, after losing his factory mechanic's job in March 2020.

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A post shared by Khabane Lame (@khaby00)

His posts took off -- helping him gross an estimated $16.5 million through marketing deals with companies in the period between June 2022 and September 2023, according to Forbes. He was also featured in Forbes' 30 Under 30 and Fortune's 40 Under 40.